gavel.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the suit
filed by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria against the Edo State
government.
In the suit, the union urged the court to freeze the account of
the state government over alleged refusal to obey a court order
asking the state to offset the seven months salary arrears owed its
members since 2015.
It asked the court to enforce the judgment of a Federal High
Court which ruled in their favour.
Ruling on the application on Thursday, Justice Okon Abang
explained that the suit was filed in bad faith with the aim of
crippling the activities of the state government, a few weeks to a
major election.
He insisted that the union adopted a careless and nonchalant
approach to enforce the judgment secured since January 2014, having
failed to take steps to enforce.
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State.
The judge questioned why the union surreptitiously approached
the court during a vacation to have the entire accounts of the
state frozen without stating the exact amount allegedly owed the
workers.
While dismissing the suit, he described the action of the
applicant as a gold-digging exercise, adding that it was
speculative and laced with ulterior motive aimed at satisfying the
interests of members of the union to the detriment of the
state.
Members of the union had joined their counterparts in the 35
states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 2014 to protest
over the alleged failure of the state governments to grant autonomy
to the judiciary.
NYIF: Minister Hails Focal Group Volunteers
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare has
commended members of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) Focal
Group for the dedication they have shown in carrying out their
unpaid volunteer work for the Fund.
The Minister, who made the commendation when the NYIF Focal
Group presented its preliminary report to him in Abuja on Thursday,
noted that the members were selected based on their skills,
competence and areas of expertise.
He explained that “We will take time to study this interim that
has been submitted by the NYIF Focal Group will be harmonized with
the interim report that the Technical Committee has submitted and
the outcome of that will be presented to the Steering
Committee.
“It is important for me to state that I am impressed, and I
commend the quality of work you have put in because this
assignment, membership of the Focal Group is not a paid assignment,
it is volunteer work. This is rendering service to the country and
to the youth,” he stressed.
The Focal Group’s team lead, Oladipupo Adebiyi, while presenting
the report during a virtual event, said “The NYIF initiative enjoys
public support especially from young Nigerians. Nigerians believe
the fund will address unemployment and reduce poverty amongst young
Nigerians.
“The fund will not only cushion the effect of the COVID-19
pandemic on the economic condition of young people, it will also
foster the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Most young Nigerians strongly posit that the success of the fund
will be contingent on its inclusiveness, monitoring and evaluation
mechanism and sustainability framework.”
The group’s terms of reference required that it Provide
advisory, insights and suggestions on the successful implementation
of the NYIF emanating from both the group and the youth population;
Propose ideas and initiatives that promote the NYIF and supports
its impact on youth entrepreneurship across the country; Provide
feedback on the expectations of the youth with regard to the
implementation of NYIF across the youth demography in the country;
Serve as ambassadors of the NYIF in their various communities and
spheres of influence; Coordinate the engagement of the NYIF with
youth groups and other stakeholders across the country for a proper
feedback process to strengthen the Fund; and Advise on other
related issue(s) as may be requested by the Inter-ministerial
Steering Committee.
*Media Office To The Honourable Minister Of Youth And
Sports Development*: Minister Hails Focal Group Volunteers
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare has
commended members of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) Focal
Group for the dedication they have shown in carrying out their
unpaid volunteer work for the Fund.
The Minister, who made the commendation when the NYIF Focal
Group presented its preliminary report to him in Abuja on Thursday,
noted that the members were selected based on their skills,
competence and areas of expertise.
He explained that “We will take time to study this interim that
has been submitted by the NYIF Focal Group will be harmonized with
the interim report that the Technical Committee has submitted and
the outcome of that will be presented to the Steering
Committee.
“It is important for me to state that I am impressed, and I
commend the quality of work you have put in because this
assignment, membership of the Focal Group is not a paid assignment,
it is volunteer work. This is rendering service to the country and
to the youth,” he stressed.
The Focal Group’s team lead, Oladipupo Adebiyi, while presenting
the report during a virtual event, said “The NYIF initiative enjoys
public support especially from young Nigerians. Nigerians believe
the fund will address unemployment and reduce poverty amongst young
Nigerians.
“The fund will not only cushion the effect of the COVID-19
pandemic on the economic condition of young people, it will also
foster the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Most young Nigerians strongly posit that the success of the fund
will be contingent on its inclusiveness, monitoring and evaluation
mechanism and sustainability framework.”
The group’s terms of reference required that it Provide
advisory, insights and suggestions on the successful implementation
of the NYIF emanating from both the group and the youth population;
Propose ideas and initiatives that promote the NYIF and supports
its impact on youth entrepreneurship across the country; Provide
feedback on the expectations of the youth with regard to the
implementation of NYIF across the youth demography in the country;
Serve as ambassadors of the NYIF in their various communities and
spheres of influence; Coordinate the engagement of the NYIF with
youth groups and other stakeholders across the country for a proper
feedback process to strengthen the Fund; and Advise on other
related issue(s) as may be requested by the Inter-ministerial
Steering Committee.
*Media Office To The Honourable Minister Of Youth And
Sports Development*